Kevin Pietersen MBE chosen as new England Cricket captain

August 6, 2008

Today the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced that Kevin Pietersen MBE has been chosen to be the new England Cricket captain.

"I'm very thrilled and excited to have been given the opportunity to captain England," Pietersen told the BBC. He said that he would approach his captaincy like he approached his batting.

Michael Vaughan, Pietersen's predecessor, resigned Sunday in what the BBC has described as a "shock." During the news conference, the new captain paid tribute to his predecessor and said that the last few days had been an emotional time.

Teams for upcoming games
The ECB has announced the teams for upcoming games.

England squad for final Test match against South Africa at The Oval, starting on Thursday 7 August:


 * Kevin Pietersen (captain), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Tim Ambrose, Alastair Cook, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Steve Harmison, Monty Panesar, Ryan Sidebottom, Andrew Strauss.

England squad for Twenty20 & ODI's against South Africa:


 * Kevin Pietersen (captain), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Samit Patel, Matt Prior, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, Chris Tremlett, Luke Wright.